Enhancing student vocabulary is important for scaffolding reading comprehension. The word maps listed on the following website can be used in any subject area. The maps encourage students to make their own meaning of the words that they encounter in context. They provide space to write the word, to connect a synonym and/or antonym, to make a personal connection, to draw or illustrate the new word, and to use the word in a sentence.
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_maps